Reviews written by registered userrobveal

8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:color, in black and white, 27 January 2008

Boy this is a jewel, and for many different reasons. A good lot of
people deserve credit for their work

First is Nicholas Ray for his direction. A fine preparation and
presentation of the visual elements really took some doing. The use,
but not excessive glorification (thank goodness), of the relatively new
Trucolor is well-done; the horses full of black-clad riders rushing up
the rocky hill in the night, the many shots of the furious blazes
dissolving Vienna's place, and so much more.

The acting is remarkable. Sterling Heyden, just in standing before the
camera and delivering his lines in that firm and fearless manner (ala
Asphalt Jungle), is a strong presence. John Carradine once again shows
himself as the precious dramatist he proved himself to be many years
before in The Grapes of Wrath.

What strikes me the most, though, is Ben Maddow's (thank Phillip Yordan
for being an heroic front) screenplay. It is not only thick in theme
and symbolism, it is thick with what was (at the time) almost
unprecedented elements. Both Vienna and Emma are, as either GOOD or
BAD, shown as the leaders of men! Pacifism is being shown as a good
thing! Is that the good guys wearing black and the bad guys wearing
white (or maybe the other way around)?! As many comments have
mentioned, the Un-American Activities Committee parallels (complete
with the entire Ox-Bow-esquire element) are, really, quite thinly
veiled. The economically powerful, Small and McIver, are dominant and
monopolistic capitalists (a version of antagonism almost unseen, for
obvious reasons, since the McCarthey-assaulted Force of Evil).
Remember, this is 1954!!!! This stuff is downright revolutionary! How
did they ever get it all past the censors and masters of the code?

Let's hope time doesn't forget this one in favor of some formulaic
shoot-'em-ups simply because they feature "the Duke."

35 out of 41 people found the following review useful:...for its own sake..., 11 February 2007

I just have to say... It seems as though every negative comment about
this film starts out with "this is a bad REMAKE of..." Surely, I
suppose it's nearly impossible to view THE LONG NIGHT as itself when
you have already seen Marcel Carne's 1939 flick (and maybe even harder
if you have created within yourself a dedication to anything foreign,
slightly obscure, or non-Hollywood). The great thing about this movie,
if one can get over the remake aspect of it, is that it is truly LOADED
with great things! The set design and artwork are fantastic! Tiomkin's
music is, once again, a fine creation! Polito's cinematography, camera
work, and use of light are brilliant! Sure, the great story is, for the
most part, taken from somewhere else, but the screenplay by the great
John Wexley is excellent. I might be reading a bit to much into this,
but I saw working class heroism, touches of popular justice, and just a
hint of bourgeois deceit. The latter showed in the fantastic
performance by Vincent Price as his character continued to try to sell
a fantasy to Jo Ann (Barbara Bel Geddes) by means of magic and
falsehood. All in all, I think this one is just like any good work of
art: if you put a little into it, you can get a lot out of it.